we know now that mitt romney blames his loss on obama's gifts. i should put the quote marks around that. the much maligned 47% came out in force. last night paul ryan distanced himself from his running mate's remarks. take a look. >> both parties tend to divide americans into our voters and their voters. let's be really clear. republicans must steer far clear of that trap. we must speak to aspirations and anxieties of every american. >> you know, it's hardly a month and he's gone already. what a running mate. he ran away from his mate. the problem for republicans in 2012 is that romney failed to speak to those aspirations and anxieties just mentioned. in a much read analysis david winstin argues romney lashed him to george w. bush. the bottom line is romney could not counter the obama narrative that he wanted to go back to the policies that got the country in trouble in the first place. this was largely due to his campaign's strategic decision to try to make the election solely a referendum on obama. as a result, there was little clear rationale